


common thread

by WattStalf



Series: these shitty ocs of mine [5]
Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/M, headcanon-y bullshit, im sorry, spoilers for the Negan backstory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-27
Updated: 2016-04-27
Packaged: 2018-06-04 22:02:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6677026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WattStalf/pseuds/WattStalf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Negan discovers he has something in common with one of his wives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	common thread

**Author's Note:**

> With the Negan backstory starting up, I couldn't help but write a bad fic in reaction, and I had written Cindy as being a teacher before too, so I wrote about them bonding! Or...not bonding at all, because it's Negan and it's Cindy.

Of all of his wives, Cindy was by far and away the hardest to have a conversation with, not that that really mattered to Negan. It wasn't like he kept them around for talking, and with four others, if he was really that hard up for conversations, he could find it somewhere. She was the one he knew the least about because of this, and again, that didn't really matter to him. What came before him wasn't important, and he didn't really care what any of them did before the world fell apart, or even before he made honest women out of them.

But sometimes, when he was bored, he got a little curious, and he knew so damn much about Eileen because she never shut up, and he'd known Sherry and Nina since almost the beginning, and sometimes Amber would start to talk about her past when they were alone, so Cindy was the only one who was a mystery to him. He couldn't really picture her outside of what she did now, which was sitting around quietly and enthusiastically responding to everything he asked of her, always prattling on about wanting to do what she was best at. She was a weird one, that was for sure.

“So,” he said one day, after he'd managed to catch his breath, “what'd you do? Before all this shit, I mean.”

She blinked at him. “Before I came to live with you?”

“No, before everything got fucked beyond belief. Did you have a job?” He already wondered what the fuck he was even trying to do. Small talk with the girls had never been one of his strong suits.

“I...” She paused, as if giving it serious thought, and he wondered if she really had that much trouble remembering. True, it felt like an entirely different lifetime to him too, but he still remembered all of the basics. Maybe even more than he would have liked to, but he was so good at pushing that out of his mind now. “I was a teacher,” she said at last, looking a bit more certain now.

This surprised him a little bit, not only because she really didn't seem stable enough for something like that as he knew her, but also because he hadn't realized that they had something in common. “Whoa, are you fucking serious? What'd you teach?”

Again, she gave it serious thought before answering. “Middle school history,” she finally said.

“Well, what do you know? I did middle school too,” he said.

“You taught?” she asked, and he couldn't help but laugh over the fact that even she seemed surprised by that fact. It was one that he hadn't mentioned to the other wives, though, and he wasn't sure why he was even telling her. He supposed it was just due to his own surprise that they had it in common.

“Nothing special,” he replied. “Just a fucking gym coach, but it was fun. The kids all looked up to me, if you can believe it.”

“Did you like it?” She didn't normally ask this many questions unless it involved how he wanted to fuck her and it was weird, but he decided to humor her just a little bit longer. He really didn't know her at all, the more he thought about it.

“More than you'd think,” he replied. “I know I don't seem like the type, but I fucking loved getting to see those kids every day. It's been a long time so I hardly remember any of them, but, yeah, it was fun. What about you?”

As soon as he asked it, he regretted it. She took another long pause, trying to remember whatever it was she had done back then, and he sighed, wondering how long this would take. Served him right for trying to make conversation with her when he didn't even give a shit, but he had been feeling nicer than usual so he had to listen to her bullshit.

“I think I liked it,” she said. “At least, I think I was good at it. I don't know if it was what I was best at, but I did for a few years before everything changed, and I don't think anything bad ever happened. Did you keep doing your job until everything changed?”

And there was a question he really didn't want to answer, because the answer reminded him of too many things he didn't think about anymore. Things that he didn't need to think about, because they weren't fucking important and his old life didn't matter and none of it bothered him anymore. “Nah,” he finally said. “Got a different job, selling fucking cars...pretty different.”

“Why did you-”

“Do you not shut the fuck up?” She flinched and he felt a little bit guilty. He knew that she didn't take that sort of thing well and that he had started this whole conversation, that he had driven her to speak more than she normally did, but he really, really didn't want to talk about that part with anyone. Least of all Cindy. Least of all any of these women, but Cindy was definitely the worst to have this conversation with.

“I'm sorry,” she said. “I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?”

He had to hold back his laughter; the fact that he had asked her to shut up and her first response was to repeatedly apologize was so hilarious that it didn't even annoy him this time. Instead of laughing, he let out an exasperated sigh and said, “No, no, fucking forget it, it's fine. Just...I'm tired of talking. Why don't you run along?”

“If you're sure there's nothing else you need me to do for you...”

“Nothing.”

“Do you need me to get one of the others for you?”

“No, Cindy, you wore me right the fuck out.” He gave her a smile, and she mirrored it; if she was cheered up, he didn't need to feel guilty anymore. As long as she wasn't moping around, he didn't have to worry, and he wondered if she might not be more trouble than she was worth. He had brought her into his home because she was hot and willing and he had been in need of a fourth wife to keep him satisfied, but it hadn't taken him long to figure out that she came with a little baggage, and it wasn't baggage he had any desire to deal with.

Eileen had taken an interest in her from the beginning, but Negan knew that was just because she wasn't excited about having another girl around. She was so jealous it was almost funny, and more than a bit irritating at times, though she never did anything directly to the others, so he let it slide, if only because she was still damn sexy. Her friendship with Cindy had been based entirely on her desire to scope out the new girl, and he was sure that some of Cindy's odd devotion had been based on some of Eileen's “friendly advice.”

“Okay,” she said, nodding, “I'll leave.” And with that, she stood up, and he watched her while she walked out of the room, appreciating the view until the door closed.

When he was left alone with his thoughts, he sighed. She'd caused him to remember more than he wanted to, caused him to think about a past that he was trying to separate himself from. He wasn't the same man who'd tried to bond with a bunch of kids over sports, the same man who had never had any of his own but had always enjoyed spending time with them, the same man who had lost a chance at having any of his own...

Shaking his head, he shook away any memories that attempted to resurface. Maybe he'd been wrong when he told Cindy that he was too tired; maybe he needed someone to help distract him a little bit. He got up, deciding at last to see if Amber or Nina (or maybe even both, he _really_ needed a distraction) were up for it.

 

**Author's Note:**

> uuuuuuuuuuuuuugh sorry


End file.
